Corner Office

A great movie.

It really had my attention from the very start until the last moment and it left me wondering. Just the type of movie that I enjoy the most. It was intriguing and it kept me guessing, it was a journey.

I see how some people wouldn't like the experience, you have to have a certain mood to like this one, you have to be ready to dive in. It's not a type of movie you would watch with your friends or even family, I guess. After all, it is about loneliness some might say...

It is mostly grey, calm, monotonous, it demands focus and commitment, it is like a study in a way, and most people, won't find that entertaining.

Now for the good stuff, first of all, how good it was artistically! First it catches your eye with that cold concreate, the office, perfect shapes, yet then you hear the soft voice. And then the room - warm and comfy like the voice, because the voice comes from the room from the very start, doesn't it?! It is perfectly executed visually, I'd say. The atmosphere is on point.

The lead is perfectly executed, as well as the manager, but I do feel like other side characters were a bit lackluster and it could've made it better if they were explored and developed a bit more.

One thing that I noticed is that it might be hard to correctly explore the feelings of the protagonist here, it could be hard to back his decisions, as he doesn't seem to be a good guy overall, being egotistic, narcissistic and self-absorbed as he is. All the other characters seem quite flawed too, although quite more simply displayed. It is almost like they are all a puzzle that might fit together to show a picture, yet not really good on their own.

Apart from the obvious exploration of the psychology it's hard to pin point what this movie is really about. First thing that came to my mind was art. To me the protagonist looked like an artist - he had a vision and a way to execute it, it was genius as it was there in plain sight for him and it had great value, yet no one else could see it, until the fruit of it came out. He wanted the admiration, yet he also wanted to keep the fruit all to himself. Eventually it looks like he just wanted peace of mind and understanding. But then he got tangled in the admiration and fruit, and people wanting the process for their gain and fruit as a simple currency. Eventually understanding became to be not an option, so he resorted to the last thing he got left - himself.

It could also very well be the other way around, since the character is so egoistic, I could assume the whole story is about people being so self-absorbed by their own good work and talent, demanding privacy and comfort, ignoring the fact that being good at certain tasks doesn't automatically allow you to ignore morality and other people and just ignore the society overall, just because you yourself decided that. I mean, it sits well with current state of things in modern world, where people are so obsessed with themselves, like everyone is a star in their own movie, all those social networks, steamers, vlogs, etc. People do seem obsessed with themselves a lot nowadays and they sure do seem to think this makes them entitled to make unreasonable demands. Does it really mean, if you have a talent (or even not), you suddenly become entitled to make unreasonable demands, based on something that is real only for you?!

I mean, as you see this movie brings some thoughts up. I liked it.

Based on a book, 'The Room' by Swedish author Jonas Karlsson, a dark comedy.

I never found it boring in the least. It depends on your preconceptions going into it I guess? You experience it almost entirely in the head of the protagonist, and his internal monologue. The lead plays this to perfection, though I found myself envisioning Steve Carrell in the role! Its certainly not a thriller, in fact, like (I guess) a typical corporate office environment, its mundane, stifling, repetitive.

So why did I like it? It has you guessing, does the room exist? It has you thinking, why is this man like this? Have I known someone like this, and how did I, and others treat them?

The acting and direction are excellent, you buy into all of the characters as ordinary everyday types. The cinematography and soundtrack are faultless, there is nothing to distract you from the monologue. Its 1 hour 41 minutes occupying the head of a troubled individual, who's increasingly fractious interactions with his fellow workers provides drama and interest enough to keep it interesting.

In off-centre, dark dramedy "Corner Office" (adapted by Ted Cupper from Jonas Karlsson's book 'The Room') Jon Hamm (always strong) is a new employee (under Christopher Heyerdahl alongside the likes of Danny Pudi & Allison Riley (with Sarah Gafon in support)) at a dull, grey, monolithic corporation, which tho contempory feels backwards & Seventies (in a "Wristcutters: A Love Story" stylee). Told from Hamm's perspective it's soon clear he's mentally ill, imagining for example the plush titular office (which no-one else can see) where he gathers his thoughts. Joachim Back delivers a quirkily interesting film in distinctive style... but it won't be to everyone's taste.

I liked it, but then I find movies (and other art forms) concerning the act of work, especially office work, quite engrossing. I can understand why it might seem weird and unremarkable to some. Perhaps you need to have experienced office work, especially in a large, soulless space, toiling for a large, soulless organisation, to appreciate some of the nuances and petty frictions on display here. The more I think about the film, the more it chimes with me. It's one man raging against the machine and finding his own way of managing the profound frustrations of being misunderstood and under-appreciated.

I did not know what to expect from this film but had seen Apple TV "Severance" so was expecting something along the same lines. However I was refreshingly surprised at the nuisances and tone. The office seems a lot more oppressive and the setting and tone are masterpieces in their own right! Such an extenuation of the corporate office environment possibly of the 1990/2000,s.

I loved the introductory monologues that revealed the thought patterns of the main character and his strategies that any on a spectrum of some sort could relate to when entering a social environment.

The room.was a great representation of a mind space. The colleagues a great representation of the close minded colleagues of the 90 and 2000,s. Thankfully I have observed many an office environment changing. However Office politics always exist and this was a great reflection of that.

For those who have not worked in a corporate environment or understand life on a mental spectrum you may not appreciate the nuisances of this slow burn. But for the rest of us it was an amazing piece of cinema!